Meet Meaghan Baker. Meaghan works on the IS team as Senior Director of Enterprise Applications.
Tell us about your background.
I’m an Ottawa native and a graduate of the Commerce program at Carleton University. My last university term was spent learning at a school in Rennes, France, which of course also included weekends getaways around Europe.
Back in Canada I was hired by Innovapost to provide support for Canada Post, as they had just gone live on SAP. This started my career and further ignited my passion for helping people find solutions to technology> people>process dilemmas.
After gradually increasing my scope of responsibility and earning a Project Management Professional certification, I joined Calian in 2013. The past 10 years have been incredibly fulfilling. I’ve had the opportunity to help grow our SAP footprint, build out a team of business systems analysts, build business cases for several corporate cloud-based tools (such as HubsSpot), help win major contracts by assisting with proposal responses, lead the Excellent Canada recertification process—just to name a few highlights!
What is your role at Calian? Tell us about the type of work you do.
My title is Senior Director of Enterprise Applications. My team ensures that each person at Calian has the tools, applications, processes and training materials required to run our business operations. We work with stakeholders across the organization to understand their business requirements and put together innovative solutions to make their work more effective and efficient.
My 2023 goal is to build out the project management and delivery practices of the Information Systems division so that solutions are clearly communicated and deployed to our stakeholders on-time and on-budget.
What do you like most about working for Calian?
The flexibility. Being able to work remotely much of the time means that I’m home when my kids get home from school and I get to hear about their day before they forget about it! It also gives me more time to squeeze in a workout before the workday begins or take my dogs out at lunch for a run. In turn, I love being able to offer the same flexibility to my team—it helps keep all of us engaged and feeling fulfilled. This flexibility is also apparent in the work I do—I love the varied projects and people that I get to work with every day.
Do you have a favorite story from your time at Calian?
I have many favourite stories!
In my first year at Calian (9 years ago!), I was working closely with the Information Technology and Cyber Security business unit, as well as the Proposals team, to get a bid response out to the City of Toronto. We worked until midnight, and I then took the boxed response to a colleague, who drove overnight to hand-deliver the response in Toronto. It was a wild ride and an indicator of the lengths Calian will go for its customers.
I’ve also had the privilege to attend several management off-sites. These were fantastic opportunities to get to know colleagues and contribute to the Calian strategic direction.
What keeps you busy outside of work?
I have three kids, two of whom are avid hockey players. In the winter, I spend a lot of time at the rink cheering them on loudly with my cowbell. My family also spends a ton of time outside—we love to ski, camp, hike and go for long bike rides. I also work with our local Osgoode Youth Association (O-YA) to plan and execute fundraising events, such as the annual ‘Goode Run’.
My absolute favourite thing to do is travel and discover new places, or to make our annual summer road trip to Prince Edward Island to stay with my in-laws. I think it’s important to seek out joy in all you do and live life to the fullest.
